AP English Language

STEP 4
Review the Knowledge You Need to Score High

CHAPTER 8

Comprehensive Review—Analysis

An Essay Editing and Revision Template

We are going to provide you with a template for editing and revision that we recommend you use throughout the year for your own essays. The more you use this template for your own writing, the more comfortable you will be when it comes to analyzing the writing of others. It will become almost second nature to you.

Before you begin to write the revised draft of your essay, respond to each of the following carefully. If possible, ask for input from your peers. Read aloud to each other. Listen to what you have written.

“For me, having an audience who gives me feedback is really important and helps me to see what needs to be revised.”

—Jessica K., AP student

The title of my essay is .

I will organize my essay using (a rhetorical strategy) .

The thesis of my essay is in the ___________ paragraph.

My intended tone/attitude is .

I have used the following rhetorical devices/elements to create this tone:

The following are the transition words/phrases I have used to connect each paragraph to the one before it.

#1:

#2:

#3:

#4:

#5:

#6:

#7:

#8:

#9:

#10:

I use the ___________ tense as the predominant tense in my essay.

I have checked the verbs in each of my paragraphs. They are all in the predominant tense except:

#1: _____________(tense) ___________ Reason for using this tense is . (You must do this with each paragraph and with each verb.) I have ___________ sentences in my essay. ___________ of them begin with the subject. ___ of them begin with a participle phrase. ___ of them begin with a relative clause. ___ of them begin with an adverbial clause. ____ of them begin with a prepositional phrase. ___ of them begin with an infinitive. ___ of them begin with a gerund.

I have ___ simple sentences in my essay; _______ compound sentences; _________ complex sentences; _______ compound-complex sentences.

I think I need to add more sentence variety to my presentation. _________ yes _________ no

I have made certain that there is a variety of sentence structures in my essay. _________ yes _________ no

My conclusion _________ is _________ is not a summary of what I have already said in my essay. If it is not a summary, identify the type of ending you have created. 

I have discussed this inventory of my first draft with ____________. These are the suggested areas for improving my essay:

The major things I have to work on when I revise my essay are: